Tag Archives: motorcycle

When motorcyclists think of the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats, I’d bet most would envision either Rollie Free aboard a Vincent in his bathing suit or Burt Munro, whose historic land-speed record was immortalized in the Anthony Hopkins film, The World’s Fastest Indian.

Indian Motorcycle kicked off the 69th annual Bonneville Speed Week by paying tribute to the 50th anniversary of Burt Munro’s achievement. That tribute involved modifying a 2017 Indian Scout into a land-speed racer. Piloting the “Spirit Of Munro” would be Burt Munro’s great-grand-nephew, Lee Munro, who would blast across the same salt his famous relative did half a century earlier.

“My uncle Burt was a significant inspiration for my own racing career,” said Lee Munro, an accomplished roadracer in New Zealand, “and his appetite for speed is clearly a part of my DNA.”

Fun Fact: Munro’s original first name was Bert, but he changed it to Burt after it was misspelled in a 1957 American motorcycle magazine.

The fastest speed Burt Munro ever clocked at Bonneville was 190.07 mph in 1967, but that was on a one-way run that didn’t qualify as an official record. He was credited with an official record speed of 183.59 mph, an incredible achievement for a motorcycle/engine originally constructed in 1920!

John Munro, Burt’s son, came to Bonneville to see the Spirit of Munro run on the salt. John is responsible for upping his dad’s record to 184.087 mph in 2014, 36 years after Burt’s passing, when he noticed a calculation error made when determining the bike’s actual top speed in 1967. In the background is Lee Munro, whose grandfather is first cousins with Burt, best we could make out through John’s thick Kiwi accent.

In the case of the Spirit of Munro, Indian took a Scout production model and modded the motor, lowered the chassis and wrapped it in aerodynamic bodywork. Burt Munro’s record of 183.59 mph would not be challenged, as it was set in the 1000cc class and the modern Scout’s stock engine displaces 1133cc. Instead, Indian enlarged the bore to yield 1299cc, which places the bike in the 1350cc category.

Prior to Speed Week at Bonneville in August, the Indian team – consisting mostly of volunteers working in their spare time – had shakedown runs at El Mirage, a dry lakebed in California’s Mojave desert. Lee Munro completed his rookie runs in May, then returned in July for the SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) event. Munro rumbled across the dry lake at a speed of 186.681 mph, setting a new record in the 1350cc MPS-G (Modified Partial Streamliner-Gas) class.

More spirit of Munro: Bob Lewis and the 1946 Indian Chief he bought in high school. Lewis declined to share his age, admitting only to being older than his bike, but a member of his pit crew revealed to a colleague Lewis is 80! Lewis told us the Chief’s 82 c.i. motor has powered the bike to 128 mph. He was shooting for 130 mph this year. Not bad for an octogenarian on a kickstart motorbike! Photo by Duke.

One month later and we’re on the iconic salt flats of Bonneville admiring the curvaceous and smoothly surfaced Spirit Of Munro. The backdrop of mile after mile of white surface is otherworldly and a sight forever seared into the minds of anyone who has seen it in person.

The evening before racing began, Indian pulled out the Spirit Of Munro at sunset to introduce the slippery bike and Lee Munro to the assembled media. More eye candy was revealed when Indian reps cracked open a crate and rolled out one of the replicas of Burt’s bike that was used in the feature film. To riders raised on beefy twin-spar aluminum frames, this looked more like a collection of coat hangers than a 190-mph motorcycle!

Burt Munro’s record-setting Indian was apparently sold to a New Zealand dealer shortly before Burt’s passing in 1978. This replica, shorn of its aircraft-inspired bodywork, is an accurate representation constructed for use in the film, The World’s Fastest Indian.

The Indian team was up before the crack of dawn the next morning, getting Lee set for his first blast across the salt. They chose the shorter of two courses at Bonneville for the salt shakedown run, although short in Bonneville terms means up to five miles in length. Lee, accustomed to racing, looked a bit nervous but not apprehensive as the Spirit was fired up and he strapped on his helmet.

The modded Scout sounded angry as Lee fed out its clutch and carefully applied power. After shifting to second gear, he twisted the throttle harder and soon found out that Bonneville’s salt didn’t have enough grip to hook up the 190mm-wide rear Dunlop running 25 psi of air. Backing off briefly, traction was regained and then propelled Lee and the Indian to higher and higher speeds. They registered 180.7 mph at the mile-2 marker, then 189.6 a quarter mile later. Finally, at mile 3, they hit a very respectable 191.286 mph.

With 191 mph already in the bag, achieving the goal of hitting the double-ton seemed to be in reach. Unfortunately, on the next run a technical error in the timing equipment resulted in no speed being registered. Already late in the afternoon, the team decided to call it a day and try again first thing the next morning.

Another sunny day dawned at Bonneville, and the team decided to head over to the Bonneville’s long course, which stretches out for an astonishing nine miles in length. However, the wind was picking up and it was blowing toward the starting line of the course, meaning that Lee would be riding into a headwind. A larger rear sprocket was fitted to better thrust it through the air. To accommodate the long course’s bumpier surface and to aid traction, Indian dropped the pressure of the rear tire to 19.5 psi.

Lee Munro took off from the starting line better than the previous day’s runs, applying power smoothly but deliberately through the bottom two gears, then getting slight wheelspin in third as he dialed on the juice, finally hooking up solidly in fourth. He was traveling at 181.3 mph at the 2-mile mark and 186.415 at mile 3. Sadly, that’s all the Spirit had in her that day, falling well short of hitting her rev limiter. Dry and hot weather translated into the equivalent of a 6000-foot altitude, which, combined with a 10-mph headwind, capped the limit of what was possible in those atmospheric conditions.

Although stymied from their goal of 200 mph, the Indian crew celebrated that evening by showing The World’s Fastest Indian in the team’s camping area, with Bonneville attendees invited to join in the commemorative screening. The film was introduced by the film’s director, Roger Donaldson, and John and Lee Munro, who shared anecdotes about the making of the film and the achievements of Burt Munro.

“I’ve seen the movie countless times,” said Reid Wilson, Indian Motorcycle marketing director. “But to watch it with Speed Week attendees, the Munro family and the film’s director on the very grounds the film was based upon was a surreal experience. It was a special way to honor Burt and the perfect way to complement the efforts of Lee Munro and our Spirit of Munro racing team on the Salt Flats that weekend.”

It was another early morning the next day, but for me, it was to drive to Salt Lake City and fly home. I wouldn’t see the Indian make its next run, but it turned out to be uneventful in terms of increasing speed. The surface of the long course, re-routed after a spectacular high-speed crash the day before, forced Munro to exit his run before completing the timed section.

“It was my greatest honor to represent Indian Motorcycle in such an incredible tribute to my great uncle on this historic 50th Anniversary,” said Lee Munro. “We may not have had the results we were after, but piloting a modified Indian Scout on the same salt as my great Uncle Burt will forever be one of my most-cherished experiences.”

So, overall, I think it’d be fair to say Indian’s effort at Bonneville this year was minimally successful in performance but highly effective in marketing. The Spirit Of Munro racebike always had crowds gathered around it, and hearing hundreds of people cheering when Anthony Hopkins as Burt Munro sets a land-speed record on an Indian Scout made me feel that the abandonment of Victory Motorcycles in favor of Indian Motorcycle was a smart business decision for Polaris Industries.

Steve Menneto, Polaris’s VP of Motorcycles, was at Bonneville supporting Indian’s efforts on the salt. He told me Indian’s sales continue to increase, up somewhere in the mid-20% range over last year. If you’re yet unconvinced putting the company’s full weight into Indian was a shrewd move, consider this: Menneto says sales numbers of Indians are already three times better than Victory’s best years.

As for what’s next for Indian’s efforts on the salt, perhaps there’s more in store. After all, Lee Munro summed up in a post-Bonneville statement, “I’m looking forward to future runs and more success with my teammates and friends at Indian Motorcycle.”

KTM 390 Duke

For less than the price difference between a Ducati 1299 Panigale and a Panigale 1299S, you could have one of the most value-packed and fun motorcycles we’ve ever ridden. It’s astonishing how many desirable features are available on the KTM 390 Duke, a stylish and capable motorbike that retails for just $ 5,299.

Along with its bold and youthful good looks, the 390 Duke is outfitted with several items that aren’t even available on pricier motos. Although it can be thought of as an entry-level bike, a perusal of its parts manifest speaks of a higher-end machine. New for 2017 are TFT instrumentation, LED headlight, and a ride-by-wire throttle that helps yield a bit more power and improved driveability. Then add to it all the higher-end features that have been part of the package since the bike’s debut in 2015, like a chro-moly trellis frame, inverted fork, radial brakes, slipper clutch, aluminum swingarm and standard ABS – all of which make it difficult to argue against the 390 Duke winning our award for value. A comfier seat and adjustable levers for 2017 add to its appeal.

The riding experience is no less impressive, offering stunning agility and more power from its 373cc single-cylinder motor than any other streetbike with fewer than 400cc. It rails tight canyon roads and is also surprisingly tolerable on long stretches of highway. Really, there’s nothing this little funster can’t do, and when it can be had for a smidge more than $ 5k, its value quotient is as high as it gets.

But you don’t have to just take our word for it, as North American consumers have backed up our impressions by pulling out their wallets. The 390 Duke has been KTM’s best-selling streetbike since it arrived on our shores in 2015, and the 2016 version was KTM’s best-selling streetbike ever in a single year. And with the updates for the 2017 model, it’s an even sweeter deal.

Honorable Mention: Yamaha FZ-07

Well, it finally happened. The Yamaha FZ-07, the Best Value Motorcycle for three years running (2014, 2015, and 2016), was finally dethroned – and it almost didn’t happen. This year’s winner received a perfect 10 for value, as did the FZ-07 in its last solo test. What slotted the FZ-07 into second place was the fact that it remained essentially unchanged for the 2017 model year. Not that the FZ needed changing for change’s sake. The FZ-07 did still manage to clean up in the recent Middleweight Naked Bikes: A 2017 Shootout!.

At $ 7,199 ($ 7,499 with ABS), the 07 delivers the one-two combination of a energetic 689cc, 270-degree parallel-Twin mounted in a 403-lb. MO Scale Certified chassis. This package can handle anything you throw at it from daily grind commuting to canyon scraping to soft bag sport-touring. While we had some quibbles about its suspension and handling compared to its peers in the previously mentioned shootout, nothing in its class really has the total package to take on the Yamaha. Yet. The Kawasaki Z650 and the Suzuki SV650 have purchased real estate in the same zip code, and a slight remodel from either might force a response from the FZ if it wants to keep ahead of the Joneses.

All speculation aside, the Yamaha FZ-07 has been the bike to beat in its class since its introduction, and its place on the second step of the podium for this MOBO doesn’t change where it stands when compared to the other middleweight nakeds. The fun-loving Yamaha remains a tremendous value and deserves a MOBO Honorable Mention.

Motorcycles are more than the sum of their parts, but some parts are more important than others. Wheels are an essential part of the identity of many motorcycles. So, to test your moto-mettle, we’ve gathered a dozen different models for you to match with their wheels.

The Huffington Post posted a brief photojournalistic piece today featuring badass women on motorcycles, The Caramel Curves Motorcycle Club. Based in New Orleans and founded in 2005 by the eponymous Caramel, the only requirements are that you have to be a woman and own a motorcycle. They pride themselves as a community that supports women who want to get out and ride, and on the camaraderie and confidence that the club instills in its members.

If you’ve ever been wheelied past by a woman in 5-inch heels and a pink jumpsuit down in The Big Easy, chances are it was one of these ladies. You can also check out a great video that Vice’s Broadly did on the club here.

So far this year there’s been two big motorcycle shows: Intermot in Germany, and AIMExpo in Orlando. During those two shows, major manufacturers introduced no less than 22 brand new or heavily revised models for 2017. Include some of the lesser known OEMs, such as Benelli, SSR, and National Moto & Cycle we reported on from AIMExpo, and the list grows larger. There’s more to come next month at EICMA, but for now, we’re curious to know which of the following models pushes your buttons; floats your boat; tickles your fancy… Just vote for one.

Is it any wonder Harley-Davidson is doing so well in Australia when they are the only motorcycle company present at the Bathurst 1000?

About 200,000 petrol heads have turned up at the mountain this year and many have wandered through the Harley display to throw a leg over a test bike or gel the chrome muscle machines.

See of Harley and Linda at the Harley Jump Start stand at Bathurst

Such aggressive marketing paying off wth the company moving further ahead of Honda in the third quarter as the top-selling road bike company in Australia, capturing 21% of the road bike market.

They are now 1401 bikes in front of Honda (16.7%) and Yamaha (15.4%).

Harley is also only 238 behind Suzuki for overall fourth place, even though they don’t sell sports bikes, adventurers, dirt bikes, scooters or ATVs.

Happy new Street 500 customer Debra D’Onofrio

Their top seller is the learner-approved Street 500 (1132), behind the Kawasaki Ninja 300 (1460) and Honda CT110 “postie bike” (1395). Surprisingly, the Harley Softail Breakout at $29,750 is the fourth-selling motorcycle in Australia.

Aussies seems to love cruisers and road bikes with 10,749 new road motorcycles being sold in the third quarter of 2015.

That brings the year-to-date total to 32,437 which is a 1.1% over the previous year to September.

Official Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show Australians bought 75,893 new motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and scooters between January and September 2015, down 2.5% in comparison to the same period in 2014.

Despite a lifetime of following the Bathurst 1000 and more than a decade as a motoring journalist, ghost-writing weekly newspaper columns for Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup, I have never seen the race live.

I’ve ridden and driven around the track on many occasions, like many tourists passing through the regional centre.

However, I was also either too young, impoverished and/or involved in my career and family to go to Bathurst for either the epic touring car race or the legendary Easter motorcycle races which ended in the late ‘80s.

Take a look at the “carpark” of any V8SC event and you will see a host of motorcycles. It’s not only indicative of the support among rev-head riders, but also the ease of getting in and out of the event on two wheels!

Inter-race on-track entertainment also includes motorcycle stunt shows, Australian Superbikes has often shared events with V8SC and most of the V8 drivers are sponsored by motorcycle companies and are enthusiastic riders.

One of the best is Craig Lowndes who is a gun on both road bikes and dirt bikes.

Craig Lowndes

Harley-Davidson Australia spokesman David Turney says they have long been aware of motorcyclists’ enthusiasm for V8SC and will have their 2016 model years range and Pepper, their salt flats racer, at this weekend’s Bathurst 1000.

“There’s a lot of synergies between lovers of motorsport and Harley-Davidson,” he says. “H-D fans young and all are mostly petrol heads at heart with muscle and fire in what moves us, love a good hot rod just like fans of V8 Supercars. It’s good to tap into these cultural icons of Australian motorsport and show the community that we’re all thinking as one.”

Even a corner of the famous mountain track, Forrest’s Elbow, is named after motorcycle racer Jack Forrest who scraped his elbow away after laying down his bike on the corner.

Bathurst 1000 track

While the track has changed over the years and could never host a motorcycle event again because of the dangers of the concrete walls, Bathurst may soon have an extra track specially developed to attract motorcycle races such as rounds of the MotoGP and World Superbikes.

It all adds up to being a great ride, a great bonding experience and a great weekend full off high-octane motorcycle and car action at the Great Race.

BATHURST APP

To stay in touch with all the Bathurst 1000 action, you can download the free FOX SPORTS App available in the Apple Store or Google Play.

It includes live scores, comprehensive statistics, live timing, racing stats, car telemetry, breaking news, editorial features and video highlights.

FOX SPORTS Digital and Foxtel Sports subscribers will also be able to access in-race on-board cameras.

Unless you are a Swiss army conscript or a military enthusiast, you almost certainly have not learned of Condor-Werke AG.
It is one of Europe’s sleeper marques, and began assembling bikes for the Swiss military in 1893. (Yes, that is a year before Hildebrand & Wolfmuller launched the first generation bike to authentic.)

The machine is a Condor A580. It is possessed by a collector who wants to stay anonymous, but is happy to share a little history as well as pictures.
The likenesses between modern BMWs and the Condor are clear. The Condor isn’t an immediate copy, but it is a bulletproof, good-engineered air cooled boxer with rotating shaft drive.

The BMWs used by German troops during the second world war were coveted by the Schweizer Armee Condor got the job of designing a Swiss equivalent. The A580 has telescopic forks, plunger-design back suspension, hydraulic self-adjusting aluminum cylinder heads and valve lifters. German flathead boxer versions certainly inspired it’s –such as the Zundapp KS600, R6 or R12, as well as the BMW R71.
The motorcycle we are looking at here spent a decade in service before being auctioned off. The 1970s was locked away, and forgotten till the 21st century, when it arrived.

It is now been treated to a restoration job that was classy, but keeps a number of the battle scars including several broken cooling fins on the cylinder heads. The tires are a period- Metzeler Block C pattern that is right –difficult to come by now, however a fantastic finishing touch for the restoration.
The subdued military paint is gone, replaced by a reddish colour that Condor used for its civilian versions, which sold for the cost of BMWs that are modern. Nevertheless, the uncommon gear ratio decrease lever (below) stays, mounted on the correct part of the transmission.
This lever provides eight gears to the Condor –four for the road and four for difficult terrain, which reduces top rate from around 110 to 50 kph (31 mph).